Senators want action against vicious dogs, owners
Senators on Friday demanded that the Government takes strong action to protect pedestrians from being attacked by vicious stray dogs in their communities.
Government Senator Kerensia Morrison raised the issue on the adjournment, drawing attention to viral media reports on the “horrific attack” on a St Andrew schoolteacher by a number of pit bulls as she walked through her community on September 19.
She said that people need to take responsibility for their animals, and that out of this incident a raft of decisions on how to treat these issues must emerge.
“We cannot consider stray dogs all over our communities as acceptable, neither should we mistreat animals, but nobody should be attacked by vicious dogs because the owner forgot to close the gate…sometimes sorry does not cut it… secure your property and chain up your dogs,” Morrison insisted.
She said that she supports the proposal by Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck to review the regulations covering vicious dogs, as well as proposals to have vicious dogs registered and licensed. She said that she was also interested in the debate over whether or not only private security companies should be allowed to own these dogs.
She was supported by Opposition Business Senator Donna Scott Mottley, who also recalled that there were similar responses in the past without following through.
“It was a sad tale of a woman being mauled by stray dogs for over four hours. I cannot for a moment imagine what she went through,” Senator Mottley noted, as she wished the teacher an early recovery.
She said that she was concerned that the issue only galvanises public attention when a serious incident like this one occurs. However, she noted that pit bulls are banned from importation into Jamaica and questioned how they continue to enter the country.
She also noted that the justice minister had responded to the incident by urging a review of the current legislation, but she insisted that the regulations to protect the society were already in place.
“The fact is that pit bulls are banned from entering the island, and how they come here is that there is a vast illegal trade. But, if they are here and they are banned, the authorities must do something about them when they discover their persence,” she added.
She said that the Government must take one step further and implement the law. For example, she pointed out that there is a fine of $1,000, which must be adjusted.
“What I want to say is that this time the difference you must make is to follow through what you are feeling now and to ensure that your colleagues take this matter one step further by implementing the law,” she argued.
President of the Senate Senator Thomas Tavares Finson said that importation of the vicious dogs is really very stringent, although they continue to enter the island.
He said that he was aware that the vets do deal with them when they are brought in, and that the process of importing them is not a simple one. However, he admitted his concern, as well, as to the number of them entering the country illegally.
Last Thursday, Chuck told a press briefing at his ministry that the 1877 Dogs (Liability for Injuries) Act will be updated to effectively deal with fines and penalties related to the attacks on people by these dogs.
He said that the existing law only provides for compensation when a person is attacked or injured.
“That law does not allow for criminal prosecution; it only allows for civil liability,” he noted.
Chuck said that the ministry’s Legal Reform Department has put forward proposals, which will be discussed at Cabinet and later in Parliament, so that stakeholders can have an input.
“We are going to repeal that law and put in place the Dogs Liability of Owners Act, so the burden will be on owners to ensure that their dogs are kept under control. If the dogs are not kept under control and they should escape from the yard/leash and injure persons, then there will be the possibility of criminal liability,” he added.
Chuck also noted that persons can either be fined or imprisoned, dependent on recklessness or negligence. It is understood that only the importation of these dogs is criminalised in the Act.
“We have to ensure that owners of dogs control their dogs. Far too many children and persons have been victims of the ferocious attack of many dogs,” he said.
The proposed legislative changes come as a result of the recent pit bull attack on the St Richard’s Primary School sixth grade teacher, who was badly bitten by four pit bulls while she was she was jogging through her Cooper’s Hill community in St Andrew.
Reports are that she was rescued hours after the attack when the police arrived and fired several shots in the air to scare off the dogs which attacked her.